Watch: A huge Chinese missile lost control in space - and crashed over Malaysia

For the second time in about 4 months: a huge rocket of the Chinese Space Agency, launched at the beginning of the week, crashed upon entering the atmosphere - and looked like a ball of fire in the sky.

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Yanon ben Shoshan

30/07/2022

Saturday, July 30, 2022, 10:02 p.m. Updated: 10:38 p.m.

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Long March 5B in the launch pad (Photo: Reuters)

A huge rocket of the Chinese Space Agency (Long March 5B), weighing 23 tons, crashed this evening (Saturday) in the Indian Ocean region, near Malaysia - according to a report by the United States Space Command.

The missile entered the atmosphere at 12:45 (local time) - and burned up.

The Chinese space agency confirmed on the social network Weibo, the equivalent of Facebook in the country, that the rocket burned up almost completely upon entering the atmosphere, and that no fragments of the missile were detected on the ground or hitting populated areas.

The rocket, which will send a central part destined for the future Chinese space station, was launched on Sunday from Wenchang in Hainan province.

And this is not the first time a missile of the same type - Long March 5B - loses control and crashes.

Last May, a missile of the same model crashed in the Indian Ocean without causing any damage.

Debris from Chinese rocket lit up night sky some parts of Malaysia.

US space command confirms the development China's Long March 5B (CZ-5B) re-entered over the Indian Ocean at approx 10:45 am MDT on 7/30.pic.twitter.com/BIkjamFbTz

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) July 30, 2022

#China: The debris of the upper stage of the Long March 5B Y3 rocket (#CZ5B) has re-entered the atmosphere in #Sulu sea around 119.0°E, 9.1°N, and most of the components have been burned out during re -entry.

pic.twitter.com/StX0QDmYiA https://t.co/WgrJXtD7dX

— Wᵒˡᵛᵉʳᶤᶰᵉ Uᵖᵈᵃᵗᵉˢ?

(@W0lverineupdate) July 30, 2022

Bill Nelson, director general of NASA, reprimanded the Chinese authorities: "China does not share specific information about the routes of the missiles."

He added that all countries should "share this type of information in advance to enable reliable predictions of the potential risk of damage to the ground, especially for heavy vehicles like the Long March 5B, which pose a significant risk of loss of life and property."

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